CSG Buys Lucent Billing Assets

Published 2:46 pm, Tuesday, April 26, 2016

CSG Systems International Inc. is buying the billing and customer care assets of Lucent Technologies for $300 million in cash.

Denver-based CSG also agreed to provide the struggling telecommunications giant with billing and customer care software for its networking solutions.

Lucent spokesman Bill Price said Saturday the Murray Hill-based company has decided to focus on its backbone _ network infrastructure _ instead of back office services such as billing.

About 1,300 Lucent employees will be affected by the transaction.

Liz Bauer, senior vice president of investor relations for CSG, said a determination has not been made about the Lucent workers. But she said the employees are highly skilled and may complement the company's broadband and wireless expansion efforts.

"I think the game plan is to utilize as many as possible," she said.

Lucent's billing and customer care business serves more than 200 service provider customers in 40 countries. It consists primarily of software products and consulting services acquired when Lucent purchased Kenan Systems Corporation in 1999.

The group provides software and services that enable service providers to bill their customers for a wide variety of existing and next-generation services, including mobile, Internet, cable, satellite, and energy and utilities, all on a single invoice.

The sale, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2002.